Primary Sources in U.S. History the jazz age and the great depression Enzo George Cavendish Square New York
Primary Sources in U.S. History INTRoDuCTIoN Primary sources are the best way to get close to people from the past They include the things people wrote in diaries letters or books the paintings drawings maps or cartoons they created and even the buildings they constructed the clothes they wore or the possessions they owned Such sources often reveal a lot about how people saw themselves and how they thought about their world A range of primary sources from the 1920s and 1930s two decades that were times of dramatically contrasting fortunes for Americans are collected in this book The period profoundly influenced how they saw their country and their futures The 1920s began in the shadow of World War I 1914 1918 Americans shocked by the horrors of the war turned away from the rest of the world As prosperity rose at home automobiles and radios became widespread and new influences such as jazz music swept the country For many people however the prosperity turned out to be an illusion In 1929 the stock market crashed devastating the economy A slowdown in trade led to the Great Depression when millions of Americans lost their jobs For much of the 1930s the government tried to kick-start the economy while Americans moved around the country in a desperate search for work
THE JAzz AgE AND THE gREAT DEPRESSIoN HoW To uSE THIS BooK Some boxes contain more detailed information about a particular aspect of a subject The subjects are arranged in roughly chronological order They focus on key events or people There is a full timeline of the period at the back of the book Each spread contains at least one primary source Look out for Source Explored boxes that explain images from the 1920s and 1930s and who made them and why There are also As They Saw It boxes that contain quotes from people of the period Some spreads feature a longer extract from a contemporary eyewitness Look for the colored introduction that explains who the writer is and the origin of his or her account These accounts are often accompanied by a related visual primary source
